The share of university graduates from the total unemployed population in Iran was 40.8% in the first quarter of the current Iranian year (March 21-June 21), which indicate a year-on-year increase of 1.1%, according to the Statistical Center of Iran.
The unemployment rate for university graduates stood at 12.1% in Q1, posting a 1.1% year-on-year decrease.
Higher education unemployment rate for men stood at 8.1% and that of women stuck around 21%.
The unemployment shares of male and female graduates from the total unemployed population stood at 27.7% and 69.8%, respectively.
The share of higher education unemployment from the total unemployed population was 42.8% in urban areas and 30.7% in rural areas during the period.
Iran’s overall unemployment rate, the proportion of the jobless population of ages 15 and above, stood at 8.2% in Q1, indicating a 1% year-on-year decrease.
A total of 2.16 million Iranians were unemployed in Q1. Men’s unemployment stood at 6.8% while the rate for women hovered around 14.8%.
Over 1.49 million men and 673,071 women of ages 15 and above were jobless in Q1.
The unemployment rate was 9% for urban areas (1.81 million people) and 5.6% for rural areas (353,929 people).
The center provides two figures for the youth unemployment rate: the proportion of the population between 15 and 24 years and those between 18 and 35 years.
The unemployment rate of those between 15 and 24 years stood at 21.6% in Q1, posting a 2.4% decrease while the unemployment rate of those between 18 and 35 years stood at 15.5%, posting an decrease of 1.1% YOY.
The SCI data also show the share of employment of university graduates stood at 26.5% of the total employed population, wherein male and female graduate employment rates were 22.9% and 45.7%, respectively.
In urban and rural areas, graduate employment rates stood at 32.3% and 8.7% of the total number of job-holders, respectively.
The overall employment rate was 37.8% (24.3 million), up 0.7% compared with the same quarter of the last Iranian year. Employment rates for men and women were 63.7% and 12%, respectively, which constituted 20.43 million men and 3.86 million women in Q1.
The employment rate was 36.8% (18.35 million people) in urban areas and 41.2% (5.95 million) in rural areas.
According to SCI, labor force participation rate — the proportion of the population of ages 15 and above that is economically active either employed or looking for a job — stood at 41.2% or 26.46 million people in Q1, registering a 0.3% increase year-on-year.
Men’s and women’s economic participation rates were 68.3% and 14.1% respectively in the same period.
A total of 21.93 million men and 4.53 million women of ages 15 and above were economically active in Q1, i.e., they were either employed or looking for a job.
Human Capital Flight
Noting that salary levels for graduate job-seekers in Iran is significantly lower than in many developed countries, Feryal Mostofi, a member of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, says human capital is the most important asset of Iran.
“Seventy percent of the country’s 85 million people are young. They are skilled and educated [Iran’s literacy rate is 89.7% and 20 million Iranian people have studied in universities.] According to the Global Innovation Index, Iran ranks second among the Central and South Asian economies after India. It stood at ninth place in the world in university education and third in the percentage of science and engineering graduates,” she wrote for the news portal of the chamber.
“Factors such as higher levels of youth and university graduates unemployment show Iran’s workforce capacity for global participation and foreign investment.”
Hossein Abbasi, a lecturer in the Department of Economics of University of Maryland, says statistics provided in the Iranian migration yearbook show that a large number of people are eager to migrate.
“About half of the students and graduates have initiated their migration process, or are planning for it. Fifteen percent also want to emigrate but have not done anything yet. Among people who are employed, such as entrepreneurs, managers and employees, the percentage of people who want to migrate is almost the same, but most of them have not taken any step in this regard.
“Less than 20% of people said they have no desire to migrate. Among Iranian immigrants and those who have expressed their desire to emigrate, more than 80% have decided not to return, a small fraction said they would definitely return,” he wrote for the Persian economic daily Donya-e-Eqtesad.
